Gauge for shoe pressing machines



Jan. 16, @4%. s. J. FINN 2,186,961

GAUGE FOR SHOE PRESSING MACHINES Filed March 30, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet l amig' 84 //'ll /f Jan. 16, 1940. s. J. FINN 2,186,961

GAUGE FOR SHOE PRESSING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 50, 1938 Fi 5. /vl/f/VTUH Patented Jan. 16, 1940 nuire s'rres GAUGE FOR SHOE PRESSING MACHINES Sidney J. Finn, Beverly, Mass., assigner to United Shoe` 'Machinery Corporation, Borough of Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application March 30, 1938,l Serial No. 198,960

10' Claims.

This. invention relates to edge gauges and is particularly concernedwith the provision ofy collapsible gauges adapted to engage and position the edge of a Work piece, such asa blank of sheet material, which is to be subjected to pressure.

It is an object of the invention to provide a gauge for the above-mentioned purpose which will` facilitate the accurate positioning, and maintaining in position, of a Work piece, without i danger of damage to itself,v the work piece, or to pressure applying instrumental'i'ties voperating on the work piece` even though such instrumentali-tiesy overlap the. edge of'. said work piece and strike the gauge. With this object in view the invention comprises a novel collapsible gauge which is normally sufliciently thick to be easily and definitely engaged by the edge face of a work piece, such for example, as a. shoer sole, and the eiective gauging face of rwhich will' not be deformed'. or displaced as the thickness of the gauge is reduced when. it is subjected to pressure.

The invention isherein illustrated as embodied in an edge gauge for use in a sole attaching or laying machine, in connection. with a welt hold'- down device adapted to support or apply presl sure to thewelt. or sole extension of a shoe. As shown, the gauge comprises a plurality of angularly disposedvanes or ngers of thin, resilient material the work engaging ends oi which serve as an `abutment against which to position the sole. When compressed by pressure appliedv in thedirection. of. the thickness of.' the Work piece, these varies or fingers bend. heightwise of the the pressure, thereby providing a. gauge of Areduced thickness and undiminished accuracy. The vanes or fingers may be rnade of spring steel and,` in accordance with one embodiment of the intention, are arranged between a pair ofparallel, yielding. cover plates of the saine material which facilitate the bendingy action ofthe iingers and prevent anything from being caught between their adjacent ides or edges. In accord'- ance with another embodiment of the invention the gauge is made up of a plurality of thin resilient plates the work engaging edges of which spaced'apart but will move toward each other under pressure yapplied inthe direction of ing the thickness ci the gauge or abutment.

With the above-and other objects and features in View', thevinvention will nowbe described in connection withv the--'accompanyi'ng'y draw-ings and will thereafter be pointed out in the claims.

edge tace thereof and' iiatten out as' required by e0 the thickness of the work piece, thereby reduc-4 In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is` a front elevation of the toe portion of a pad box, with partsbroken away, showing. the collapsible edge gauge of' the present invention embodied therein; 4 f 5 Fig. 2 is a perspective viewof the edge gauge with the. top portion broken away to show cletails of construction;

Figs. 3 and 4 are views of the gauge similar to. Fig. 1 illustratingvitscondition during diierent 10 stages of the operation. of. applying pressure to the sole and shoe;

Fig. 5 is a plan view ot the toe `portion of the pad box showing the edge gauge abutting a sole in. conjunction with a pair of collapsible side l5` gauges for engaging the sole; y

Figs.. 6 and- 7 are end elevational views ofthe edge gauge before and after it has been collapsed by pressure; and

Fig. 8 is a detail perspective view of one of the 20 side gauges illustrated in Fig. 5.

The collapsible edge gauges of the present invention. are illustrated herein as embodied in a cement sole attaching machine. of the type disclosed in United` States Letters Patent No. 25 2,047,185 granted July 14C, 1936,0nanapplication led in. the names. of Milton H. Ballard et al., the machine being modied to. include Welt supporting or holddcwn noecharusm-v of the type disclosed in Letters Patent of the United States No. 30 2,156,281, granted May 2, 1939, on an application filed in my name.

As disclosed in the patent irst. referred to, the cement sole attaching machineis provided with a plurality' of padu boxes' lil each containing a 35 yieldable pressure applying pad l2 upon which a. previously cemented sole and shoe may be placed to receive sole attaching pressure. As indicated above, each pad box is provided with welt holddown mechanism I4 (Figs. l and 5) for supporting and pressing the welt of the shoe against the marginal portion of the outsole. Since this welt holddown mechanism is fully disclosed in my earlier patent only such portions thereof as are concerned with the present invention will be described herein. It should be understood that the edge gauges of the invention are not limited in their use to operating only upon soles and shoes or to embodiment in machines or pad boxes of the particular types illustrated herein.

As disclosed in my earlier patent, the pad box l0 carries near its forward end a toe piece I6 (Fig. DI for engaging; and" supporting the" Welt at the toe end of the shoe, this toe piece being 55 detachably connected to the end of an arm I8 which, in turn, is pivotally mounted at 2E! to a carrier member 22. The carrier member is arranged for pivotal movement laterally of the pad about a shoulder screw 24 threaded into a plate 26 which is adjustable longitudinally of the pad upon a slide 28 which supports the plate 26. The carrier member 22 has mounted in a suitable opening therein a disk 30 provided with a handle 32 and having an eccentric pin 34 extending downwardly into a slot in the plate 26 so that, when the handle 32 is rotated, the carrier 22 is swung about the pivot 24 to cause the toe piece I6 to be adjusted transversely of the pad. A screw 35 is provided for clamping the member 22 in adjusted position.

As also disclosed in the patent last referred to, the toe piece I6 is adjustable longitudinally of the pad by an adjusting screw 36 threaded into the plate 26 and having a groove 38 (Fig. 5) engaged by a fork member 40 secured by screws 42 to the slide 28, a set screw 44 being provided for holding the plate 26 in adjusted position.

The slide 28 is movable longitudinally of the pad I2 on stationary guideways 46 (Fig. 5) and this movement is effected by connecting the slide by a link 48 to the upper end of a lever 50 arranged to swing about a fixed pivot 52 (Fig. l) and having a tail 54 which is engaged by a spring pressed pin 56 which tends to maintain the slide 28 and the toe piece I6 at the right-hand limit of their movement, as viewed in Figs. 1 and 5. 'I'he lower end of the lever 58 is connected by a screw 58 to a link 6D having a lost motion connection 62 to the lower end of a rocker member E4 forming a part of the sole attaching machine and fully disclosed in the Ballard et al. patent, the sole purpose of this last-described connection being to cause retraction of the toe piece I6 toward the toe end of the pad when the pressure applying mechanism of the machine is moved into its inoperative position. When the toe piece is retracted a small compression spring 66 (Fig. 1) acts upon a tail 68 on the arm I8 to raise the toe piece away from the surface of the pad, as illustrated in Fig. 1.

The slide 28, as shown in Figs. l and 5, has a projection or lip TB extending from its forward or inner edge toward the rear end of the pad, this lip being so located that the longitudinal median line of a shoe mounted on the pad will bisect the lip widthwise. Secured by rivets 'I2 to the under side of the lip 'I8 is a collapsible edge gauge which forms a part of the present invention, this gauge being indicated generally in the drawings by the numeral 'I4 and being arranged in the present embodiment to engage the toe end of a sole. As best shown in Fig. 2, the edge gauge comprises a thin rectangular plate 'I6 substantially flat at its outer portion and separated at its innner portion by slots 'I8 (Fig. 5) into a plurality of thin vanes or fingers 88 (also referred to herein as plates) which are located side by side and are arranged to extend rearwardly toward the heel end of the pad I2. The plate 'I6 is formed of resilient sheet material such, for example, as spring steel, and the vanes or lingers 88 are bent or twisted during .manufacture so that they are located at a substantial angle to the plane of the fiat portion of the plate 15. The angle of the vanes may vary somewhat, if desired, but it is preferably such that the edges of the inner or operative ends thereof are located at about 45 to the flat portion of the plate. The original twisting of the vanes and their subsequent bending during operation is facilitated by forming circular cutouts 82 at the rear or outer ends of the slots 'I8 and also adjacent to their forward or operative ends, by forming semicircular notches 88 on the outside edges of the two outer vanes, and by then removing the material between these cutouts and notches to decrease the width of the vanes between these points and thereby to reduce their resistance to bending during operation. The vanes are widest at their operative ends but these ends are narrow enough to prevent the adjacent edges thereof from striking against each other when the gauge is fully collapsed as hereinafter described.

'I'he plate 'I6 is secured by the rivets I2 between a pair of substantially parallel cover plates 86, 88 formed of the same thin resilient material as the vanes and covering those members at their upper and lower sides or edges. Since the cover plates are composed of material which bends readily under pressure, the inner portions thereof, which overlap the inclined vanes, will be bent and spread apart, as best shown in Figs. l and 6, but will always remain in contact with the opposite edges of the vanes.

It will be understood from the foregoing that the edge gauge 14, constructed as described above, will present a work engaging end which is normally of suicient thickness to be easily and definitely engaged by the edge face of the toe end of a sole A placed by an operator on the pad I2, thereby permitting the gauge to serve as an abutment for positioning the sole on the pad and maintaining it against displacement thereon. The gauge is yieldable in a forward direction by reason of the lever 5I! and spring pressed pin 56 described above to permit the operator to locate the sole in the desired position lengthwise of the pad. When pressure is applied to the expanded portion of the gauge, that is, to the inner portions of either of the cover plates 86 or 88, the angularly disposed vanes 80 will readily bend between these cover plates to assume a position more nearly parallel to the plane of the sole and thus to cause the gauge as a whole to collapse or flatten out without danger of causing damage to itself, the shoe parts, the pad, or the pressure applying instrumentalities. As stated above, if the gauge is entirely collapsed by the pressure, the width and arrangement of the vanes forwardly of their operative ends prevents the adjacent edges of the vanes from striking or overlapping each other.

As disclosed in my earlier patent the pad box I8 carries a pair of upright stationary posts BIJ, 92 (Fig. 5) upon which are pivotally mounted for approximately horizontal swinging movement, a pair of arms 94, 9B which extend toward the heel end of the pad and have pivoted on their inner ends two side members 98, |08 of a welt support or holddown device, portions of the arm 96 and side member IDD being broken away in Fig. 5 to illustrate mechanism located below the welt holddown members. This lower mechanism comprises a pair of castings |82. IM pivotally mounted on the upright posts 90. 92 and provided with ears between which are freely pivoted on horizontal pins |86, IDB, respectively. side gauge carrying arms IIU, II2. Secured by screws II4 to the carrying arms I ID and I I2, respectively, are side gauges I I6, I I8 arranged yieldingly to engage or find the opposite edge faces of the sole A on the pad substantially at the tip line of the sole. The side gauge IIB is illustrated in detail in Fig. 8 and comprises a plurality of thin plates or ngers the inner or operative portions of which curve abruptly in a direction to engage a sole `substantially at right angles toits edge face, 'these members 'being likewise composed of thin resilient material such as spring steel. As herein shown, three'o'f these plates are utilized and they are secured together at their forward or outer ends, as Viewed in Fig. 5, by the screws H4 which also hold .each gauge .as a unit to its carrier member. The nngers of each side gauge are also fastened together adjacent to their curved portions by a spacing .member l2 which is riveted to the plates and is provided with an-r nular 'flanges or .shoulders (not shown) .extending between the plates so that, in addition to securing the three plates 'toeach other, the spacing member spreads or deects the curved portions apart slightly, as shown in Fig; 8, .and assists vin maintaining these portions in this .spaced relation so that the operative edges of 'the three plates together form a sole engaging abutment of substantial thickness. ing l.member t2@ thetwo outer plates of the gauge, .as shown in Fig. 8, may be bent away from .each other to producethe desired thickness at the operative end of the gauge. These side gauges are arranged to engage the opposite edge faces of the sole `A between the ,parl and the welt B of a shoe .C, the welt 'holddown members 93 and .Ulli at oppositesides of the shoe supporting the welt in. a fiat position. Since the gauges are formed ci resilient material which yields readily under Ypressure applied in theI direction of the thickness `of lthe sole,they are capable of fiattening out or collapsing under such pressure either from .the welt B, ythe welt holddown members or the pad. Moreover, they will collapse without danger of damaging the gauge or .anything contacting therewith.

The carrier members Uil and. H2 are pivoted ,freely on the pins tilt, L08 so that the operative end portions of the gauges H6, H8 normally rest by gravity on the ,surface of the pad l2. Since the surface ofthe pad is usually molded to .con- :form closely to the curvatures of the .bottom of the last upon which the shoe is mounted, the parallel sole engaging edges of the ,gauges H6 and H8 will never be exactly parallel to the surface of the pad or to the plane of the ysole resting thereon. Accordingly, there will be practicalls no danger .of a thin sole passingbetween thespaced plates whei the gauges .are moved into operative engagement therewith.

As disclosed in the Ballard et al. patent, the side gauges M6, H8 are moved inwardly yieldingly to engage the opposite sides of the sole by a .treadle (not shown) which moves a horizontal rod l22 (Fig. 5) located at .the inner side of the lpad box toward the right or heel end oi the box. 64 (Fig. l) in a direction to release the castings .l-.ll2, itil, which are then being held in an inoperative position by the member 64, and .to permit .compression springs l24, i213 (Fig. 5) yto rotate these castings about the posts S0, 92 respectively, to move the gauges yieldingly against the sole. After the side gauges have contacted with the sole, further movement of the rocker member .locks vthem in operative position by clamping .mechanism l, fully disclosed in the Ballard et ai. patent and acting upon .overlapping inner arms of the castings H12, IM, this lclamping mechanism also acting to lock the slide .2S and the edgegage 'M in operative position.

.After the side 4gauges, H6 and H8 have been actuated and all three gauges have been vlocked in position against the sole A, the shoe 'C is placed In addition to the vspac- This `rod swings the rocker member,

Fig. 1, Jvbeing rst placed against `the elevated toe piece l5 and-then lowered with the toe piece until the shoe 'engages the sole in the proper lengthwise position, as shown in Fig. 3, the member AI6 being at this time 'locked against forward movement bythe clamping vmechanism 28 referred to'. When the shoe 'has been properly located both lengthwise and widthwise of the sole, the side pieces 98 and til!) of the welt holddown are `4brought into-engagement therewith to support the side portions of the Welt B of the shoe Tin the same manner that the rtoe piece it supports the toe end of thefwelt. It will be seen'from what has been explained above that the three edge gauges M, yl I6 and H8 will have now been subjected lto pressure from the-welt and the welt holddown ymembers inthe direction of the thickness of the sole because all of these members, as shown in Figs. 3, vl and 5, extend beyond the -edge face of the sole. The gauge M will at this -time have been flattened out somewhat, las shown in Fig. 3, Athereby permitting vthe vwelt vto extend beyond 'the edge of the sole A in a lproper iiat position for permitting it to be vcement vattached Vto the sole. The saine 'conditions will exist with respect to the side gauges, `the welt and the sole edge at the side portions of the shoe, where the welt is supported 'by the side members '98 and im) vand bears against the `side gauges ll `l i8.

As Vfully disclosed in my earlier patent, the side 'members of the welt supportare swung toward and from each other automatically by swinging movement of an upright swinging frame i365 (Fig.v 5), this lframe being connected by a rod l32 to albell crank -lever 34 which, in turn, is Apivoed lon the upright post 9U and has an outwardly extending :arm |36 carrying an equalizingfbar 33. Theequalizing bar has depending pins engaging lslots in theends of a pair of arms extending toward each other from the opposite arms. se, fait. Accordingly, when the swinging frame 13S is "moved forwardly into a substantially vertical operative position, `the mechanism just described moves the side members 9B and l @t into engagement with the shoe, this movement being a'yielding movement toaccommodateshoes of different widths by reason of a `spring loll surrounding the rod ll3'2.

The swinging frame itil carries last and shoe engaging abutmen'ts (not shown) for pressing the shoe and sole vagainst the pad l2 and it also carries a substantially horseshoe shaped pressving member for engaging lthe welt support or -holddown ymembers l5, Si@ Iand lil@ and pressing them forcibly toward the pad, a fragment of this last-named member being indicated in the drawings bythe numeral E42. Accordingly, after the Vsole and shoe have been mounted on the pad and 4properly Vpositioned thereon, and the swinging frame member has been pulled forwardly to move the welt holddown members 9i! and lllil 'into engagement with the shoe, the pow-er operated pressure applying ymechanism of the machine will be actuated in the manner disclosed in the Ballard et al. patent to cause the abutments referred to, including the horseshoe r.shaped .member M2, to descend toward the pad and apply the sole attaching pressure. Figs.

.3, fl, 6 and .7 illustrate the manner in which the collapsible edge gauge lll attens out when the shoe is rst placed on the sole and also when pressure. is applied, as in Figs. 4 and 6, to attach the sol-e tothe shoe. It will be observed in thereonjthe toe end ofthe shoe, as shown in Fig. 4 that when the full pressure is being exerted on the sole and shoe the yieldable pad I2 will be distorted and a portion thereof at the edge of the sole will bulge upwardly against the lower side of the gauge, thereby causing the gauge to atten out more than it would from downward pressure of the welt alone. Regardless of the pressure applied to the gauge by the welt or the distortion of the pad, however, the gauge may continue to serve as an abutment as long as necessary for maintaining the sole in position on the pad Without danger of damage to itself, the shoe parts or the pressure applying instrumentalities. When the pressure on the shoe is relieved the collapsible gauges 14, H8 and IIB will, of course, return to their normal positions so that they may serve as abutments for engaging the edge face of the next sole to be operated upon.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A gauge adapted to abut the edge face of a work piece and to engage said edge face throughout its extent in the direction of the thickness of the work piece, said gauge comprising a plate having a plurality of resilient fingers formed thereon normally twisted at angles widthwise of said edge face and being constructed and arranged to bend under pressure applied in the direction of the thickness of the Work piece and to flatten out toward a plane parallel to the plane of the work piece, and means for covering said ngers.

2. A gauge adapted to abut the edge face of a work piece and to engage said edge face throughout its extent in the direction of the thickness of the work piece, said gauge comprising a plurality of thin resilient fingers normally inclined at angles Widthwise of said edge face and being constructed and arranged to bend under pressure applied thereto in the direction of the thickness of the work piece and thereby to iiatten out relatively to the work piece and being also arranged to return to their original positions when the pressure is relieved, resilient means for covering said iingers, and means for securing the covering means in position relatively to said ngers.

3. A gauge for positioning the edge face of an object relatively to another object to be placed on the first object in overlapping relation to its edge face and pressed against said first object, said gauge comprising a plurality of resilient vanes arranged in parallel relation to each other and normally inclined at angles widthwise of the edge face of said first object, said vanes being constructed and arranged to bend under pressure from the overlapping object in a direction that reduces the thickness of the gauge as much as required by said pressure, the operative portions oi said vanes being wider than the other portions thereof.

4. A gauge for positioning the edge face of a sole resting on a pad relatively to the periphery of a shoe to be placed on the sole in overlapping relation to its edge face and pressed against said sole, said gauge comprising a plurality of spaced ngers having forward edges inclined to engage the edge face of the sole throughout its full extent heightwise of the sole, said fingers being arranged to flatten out from their inclined position under pressure from the overlapping shoe as the shoe is placed on the sole and pressed against said sole, and resilient plates arranged to cover the upper and lower sides of said ngers.

5. A gauge for positioning the edge face oi a sole resting on a yieldable pad relatively to the periphery of a shoe to be placed on the sole in overlapping relation to the edge thereof and then pressed against the sole and pad, said gauge comprising a plurality of thin resilient iingers having sole engaging end portions of substantial height normally disposed at inclined angles to the plane of the sole and providing an abutment of greater thickness than the sole for engaging the full thickness of the edge face thereof and positioning the sole on the pad, said fingers being constructed and arranged under pressure from the shoe or the pad to bend and flatten out heightwise of the sole as much as required by said pressure and thereby to continue to serve as a gauge Without damage to themselves, the shoe or the pad.

6. An edge gauge adapted to abut the edge face of a work piece throughout its full extent in the direction of the thickness of the work piece, said gauge comprising a plurality of thin resilient fingers disposed at angles widthwise of said edge face and arranged to bend toward the plane of the work piece under pressure applied in the direction of the thickness of said work piece, thereby reducing the thickness of the gauge, and a pair of thin resilient plates located at opposite sides of said fingers and covering them, said plates being likewise arranged to bend toward the plane of the work piece under said pressure.

7. An edge gauge adapted to abut the edge face of a Work piece on a support and to position said work piece thereon, said gauge comprising a plurality of thin resilient fingers inclined at angles widthwise of said edge face and constructed and arranged to engage said edge face throughout its full extent in the direction of the thickness of the work piece, and a pair of resilient plates located at opposite sides of said inclined fingers for covering said fingers, said ngers and plates being constructed and arranged to bend under pressure applied thereto in the direction of the thickness of the work piece and thereby to flatten out toward the plane of the work piece as much as permitted by the thicknesses of the materials forming the iingers and plates.

8. In a machine for cement attaching soles to shoes, the combination of a pad for receiving a sole and a shoe which overlaps the edge face of the sole, a gauge for engaging the edge face of the sole on the pad, a member for loeating the shoe relatively to the sole, and means for pressing the shoe against the sole, said sole gauge comprising a plurality of inclined resilient ngers constructed and arranged at their forward edges to engage the edge face of the sole throughout its extent in the direction of the thickness of the sole and to collapse under pressure applied heightwise of the sole as much as required by said pressure.

9. In a machine for applying pressure to shoe bottoms, the combination of a pad for supporting a sole and a shoe having a welt thereon arranged to overlap the edge face oi the sole, a gauge adapted to abut the sole on the pad, said gauge comprising a plurality of inclined vanes enclosed between a pair of resilient plates and normally forming an abutment of greater thickness than the sole, a member for positioning the shoe relatively to the sole, and means for applying pressure to the shoe and sole, said sole gauge being constructed and arranged under pressure from the shoe to collapse heightwise of the sole to a minimum thickness controlled by the thicknesses of the members forming the gauge.

10. A gauge for engaging the edge face of a sole on a pad and maintaining the sole in position relatively to a shoe placed thereon in overlapping relation to the edge of the sole and pressed against said sole, said gauge comprising a series of substantially at plates of thin resilient material secured together at one end and having edges at their opposite ends nordanger of damaging itself or anything contact- 10 ing therewith.

SIDNEY J. FINN. 

